


Blood Ties

by HunterJamie



Series: Blood Ties [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Devil May Cry, Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: A little bit of Sherry, Canon-Typical Violence, Dante tries to act human, Demons, Devil Triggers, Leon is depressed mostly, Nero's family comes in at the end, Not the best at fight scenes, Secret Past, Secret Relations, Secrets, This fails no surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25846228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterJamie/pseuds/HunterJamie
Summary: Dante gets a call from someone he was hoping to help keep away from demons after he and one other survive a demonic attack they originally thought was an infection. Leon just wants to get out of there and return to a normal life he created without demons.
Series: Blood Ties [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2003836
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	Blood Ties

Dante was leaning back in his chair, the smell of demon blood still hanging in the air. The last job was only a few days prior. And yet, he was already bored out of his mind. It had been far too easy, just some pesky lower demons that didn’t even make a real dent in the buildings they nested in. It didn't even take him a day to clear them out. At least, his pay was decent. It went mostly to his bills and Lady, but he was able to get something to eat for a few days.

Still, he needed something to do. Something long and fun to keep his demon sated. He hadn’t had a good challenge since he and Vergil managed to cut their way out of Hell. Then again, closing any portals of Hell tended to slow things down a bit. It had only been about three months. If only demons would hurry up and try and break out already!

That did remind him that he would have to call Nero to see how his old man was doing, though. That boy was good at keeping him in line but not trying to gain power brought up many problems. Dante never stopped to think about how long Vergil had been stuck in Hell. They had a lot to work on with the elder twin if he were to remain living in the human world...

It was about when that thought process crossed his mind that the phone rang. He almost sprung out of his seat to answer it. He only took the breath to hide his excitement as he answered with "Devil May Cry." Most didn’t like how excited he got when it came to devil killing.

" _Dante?_ " At least the man on the line knew who he was. " _I need help. I went to help a friend with what was thought to be a viral infection outbreak by a terrorist group. By the time I got here…_ " The man let out a deep sigh. " _Chris and I are the only survivors, but I am a bit worried about how long that will last._ "

Well, this call just seemed… interesting. It was not uncommon for people to go into an infestation and realize what they are dealing with are demons far too late. But it took a bit for anyone to call like this, not having believed in them before. Most calls came from the outside from people that had to piece it all together. It sounded like this man knew about his shop before he even dialed the number. 

Didn't mean it was any less expensive. Before Dante could bring up the issue of price, however, the man spoke again with just a little bit of urgency. " _Shit, shit._ ” There was a small sound of movement as his breathing picked up. “ _I feel them closing in. I don’t even have a proper gun for this shit._ ”

Dante paused. _Feel them…?_ He felt his heart rate speeding up just a bit as he sat up just a bit more. The only people who he knew that could feel demons are other demons and sensitive people. And with the fact this person knew him right off the bad… “Leon?” He was praying hard that he was wrong. He prayed to whatever god would listen that Leon was not there…

And no one answered. “ _Yeah. Hi. I can’t keep these things off. Most are low level, but you know there is always something a little higher. I only have a normal gun and-_ ”

“Damnit, Leon!” Dante stood, taking the phone with as he started to move to grab his gun holster. “How the fuck did you get in this situation?!”

“ _We didn’t know! As I said, we thought it was a viral attack with BOWs! Not demons!_ ” He moved something. It might have been to create a barrier. Might have been for some comfort, seeing as they both knew it was a waste of time. “ _Had I known it was this, I wouldn’t have hesitated to call you. I wouldn’t have even gotten involved._ ” He let out a sigh. “ _Just get your ass here. We can’t get out of here without you. Chris is already hurt and I don’t know how we will be able to defend ourselves if we get attacked._ ”

The devil hunter let out a small growl. “Tell me where you are and I will be right there.” Once he got the location, he hung up and started to get his guns together as well as some of his Devil Arms.

He hadn’t thought this kind of situation would ever come up. He should have been prepared, at least kept tabs on the other man. What had he been thinking? And now, Leon was in danger with another person, who probably didn’t know a damn thing about what they were going up against.

He decided to bring Alastor just so he didn’t have to bring out his own Devil Sword. That friend might freak out more if a sword came out of nowhere. Just in case, he also grabbed his Cerberus, not the King, though. Again, he was trying to keep things a little more covert… Who was he kidding? Any of his weapons were going to be a little hard to explain. He needed something a little more normal at this point. He could get away with some things, but not all… He needed back up to look normal.

He set the phone down and started to dial Lady up. He hated the fact he was calling her, but this was needed. When he heard the answer, he just gave her the location he needed to meet her at as well as that he would explain later. As a quick afterthought, he asked Trish and Nero to not be called. He gave no room for argument as he hung up and headed out. Once he had Ebony and Ivory as well as his shotgun, he got on Cavaliere and started to speed off.

Because of the bike being demon made, he got there in no time. The town wasn’t big, but it had enough people in it to create a good amount of collateral damage. The number of demons already there made his skin itch to tear into things. And then there was the fact he could feel more coming out, more strong ones. Waiting was hard to do. He was glad he didn’t bring the twin swords; he had a feeling they would be annoying him by talking up a storm.

It took too long, but he finally heard the bike approaching. He looked up to see his partner driving up near him. He could see the new Kalina Ann with her, good and polished. That was the one weapon he made sure to take care of when he was in Hell. He didn’t want Lady pissed at him for it getting destroyed after paying for it. Then again, he knew why it was named like that. It was one of the other reasons he wanted her there.

“Okay, Dante.” She got off the bike and grabbed some binoculars out to look in the distance. She gave a small whistle at the destruction. “You wanted me here, so talk.”

The half-devil ran a hand through his hair. “Someone called. His name is Leon Kennedy.” He leaned on his bike, looking into the wreckage. “He’s… He and I have a history. Apparently, it was thought this mess was some virus outbreak, so this group was called in. He went in to help… Because he knew about what was going on he was able to survive with a friend of his named Chris, one who probably is like most humans when dealing with this shit.” He looked at Lady silently begging that she would be okay to help with this. There was no money involved, but he did know the one they were going after. He hoped it was enough. “Neither of us wanted him in this situation. We worked on means to make sure he never had to deal with a demon again.”

The woman let out a sigh before looking at the other. There was a look in her eyes, and he knew he had won. It must have been how he was talking about this guy. “Ever work with him on a hunt?” She got her weapons ready before getting back on the bike, planning on riding in. The sooner they were in and out, the better.

“No.” That answer surprised her. “It is something I would rather not talk about, more because he wants to distance himself as much as possible. It is why I have never said anything about him. And it is why I didn’t want Trish or Nero here.” He got onto Cavaliere and got ready to head out. “The more I don’t talk about him, the happier he will be about leaving this place behind.” He didn’t wait for her to ask anything else. He started to drive, going as fast as he could without leaving Lady behind too much. 

Why did this have to happen? His heart was pounding as he tried to locate the other two. What if they got there too late? What if the demons already got them…? He had no idea if Chris was any good, and he was already hurt as it was. 

Gunshots. His head shot up just a bit, hearing the sound. He waited a moment to hear them again, to figure out what direction it was coming from. Survivors. He motioned for Lady, letting her know where to turn once he heard them once again.

"That better be you, Leon. I will kick your ass if not…"

~-~-~

The agent panted as he moved with Chris over his shoulder. He should have made the man drop his tactical gear; he thought just _Chris_ was heavy. If only that one demon hadn’t gotten so close…

Honestly, the entire situation was just a complete shitshow. The moment they had arrived he had known something was wrong. But Leon hadn’t been near a demon since he was twenty-one just before he got out of the police academy. Maybe he should have dealt with them more, even if it was just visiting Dante. Maybe then he would have realized why he felt his hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was only when he saw the first one that it clicked in his mind what they were up against.

None of them stood a chance.

“Come on, Redfield… Wake up…” He glanced at the unconscious man, a bandage around his head. They were both lucky to be alive. The demon that attacked might have been low level, but it was strong and fast. It was predictable, though, nothing like the higher ones that he was sure was there. He wouldn’t feel this amount of demonic energy if one wasn’t somewhere giving some form of order.

He went into one of the buildings that looked like it might have been a hotel. Inside, there was a lot of blood but no sign of bodies. He knew of a few demons that would take bodies, either for food or nesting. What they were called he couldn't remember. The one was an insect, though. A bee. God, he hoped they didn't have a bee demon to deal with. He may not remember much from his lessons, but he remembered those were nasty fucks.

He set Chris on the bench near the desk before starting to look around. He doubted there was much to be found, but there was no harm in looking, by the very least.

He had managed at least some water, but it seemed the food was ransacked. Still, more than he thought he would find in the lobby as he went to join his friend.

“Leon?” The man jumped from how silent it had been, but a grin couldn’t be hidden as he saw the soldier sitting up, holding his head.

“You son of a bitch.” Leon knelt in front of him. “You have no idea how freaked out I was. If those things got to us and I didn’t have an easy escape…” He shook his head. “How are you feeling?” He could vent later. He needed to gauge the head wound.

It took a moment for the other to speak up, calculating his condition carefully. “I think I am okay. I am sore to beat hell, and I have a horrible headache, but you and I both know a concussion.” He lowered his hand, looking at the ground. “I will have to be careful, I think. Nothing too much…” 

That was a relief. Leon let out a sigh, glad to hear the news. He moved to sit on the bench, checking his ammo supply. It was low and a waste. Still, he needed to do something.

“What were those things, Leon?” Said man stilled, noticing the tone of voice. Chris wasn’t taking any bullshit. He had seen Leon’s reaction, saw he knew. 

The agent let out a slow sigh. This was something he knew would come up, but he was hoping that they could get started on it once Dante was there… “I…” He closed his eyes. “I have no idea how to say this without you believing me. Zombies are one thing, but this?”

“Spit it out. We have known each other long enough.”

Leon looked at the other, feeling heavy about this. Why couldn’t this have stayed in the past? “They were demons, straight from Hell. And with how it looks, there might be a portal somewhere needing to be closed…” He looked out the window. There was something nearby, just on the edge of his senses. It didn’t seem to notice them, yet. “I think a demon managed to find an opening, one of the big guys… not sure if it is a King or anything. But they are not weak…”

The two of them sat in silence for a short, just listening to the small wind outside. There were a few loud crashes in the distance. 

Chris sighed. “Have you known about these things long…?” He was hesitant in asking, recognizing that Leon was uncomfortable with this. 

“My whole life…” The agent finally turned to look at his friend. “I have always had to deal with them, ever since I was little. It took a bit, but I finally got away from it all, was able to start living like a normal person with a normal, mundane life… you won’t believe how much I wanted that.” He looked at the gun before putting it back into the holster. “Should have known I couldn’t run forever. Even with all the warding and the preparations…” He sighed and stood up. “Think you can start moving again?” He wanted to check the place out better, see if there was anything they could use or a spot to wait for back up.

Chris was quiet for a short before nodding. He slowly got up and checked his own gun. “Low on ammo.”

“I know. Same as myself… Hopefully, we can get out of here soon.” Leon handed the water to the other, figuring he could use it. “For now let’s move.” He started to head into the building more, feeling out for what he could. He was grateful that his friend didn’t ask any more questions. He had dealt with enough as it was. 

They moved as quietly as they could as they walked around the place to try and find some form of supplies. They were not expecting too much. It wasn’t like the first few times when they had to deal with the infected. This was something a little more complicated; there was no preparation, no time to get set up for the worst of it. If they wanted to get more ammo and supplies, they would need to head back to the soldiers… neither of them wanted to deal with that pain. 

They were looking in another empty room when there was a crash on the other side of the building. Leon cursed as he felt how close that demon was. “We have to move. That thing won’t wait for us to be ready.” He was given a simple nod before they started to get out of that room, moving towards a fire escape that was nearby. They were only a meter away…

A laugh sounded out making Leon feel cold as a weapon slashed in front of them. He backed up, feeling his pulse race, his fight or flight warring with each other as he heard Chris curse behind him.

It was a smaller devil, but with how it looked at them, grinning, it was one of the smarter ones. Leon should have realized he could feel something stronger. Shit.

“Such a shame… I was hoping for something a little bigger… Still, you two will be mighty tasty…” 

“Chris, run!” Leon turned and ran as fast as he could, his friend thankfully having a head start. The demon, one he had to guess was similar to a wraith, let out a hiss before starting to follow after. It slashed at the walls before throwing its blade, barely missing them. It was a chain scythe, quick, sharp, and very deadly.

Leon turned just a bit, shooting his gun twice before the two hit the stairs and jumped down. They didn’t have time to try and go down them. It might have helped save them some time as the wraith slammed into the wall rather than followed them down.

They were close to the door when they heard the thing cry out in frustration. “Get back here you pathetic worms!” Its voice had changed just a bit, going from high pitched shriek to a deeper, more menacing sound. Chris, without thinking grabbed the other man and pushed him through the door, as though having a feeling something was about to happen. He jumped and rolled just in time.

Something cold passed over them, nothing like the feeling of ice. It was dark and seemed to pulse out. The two of them almost felt as though the wind was pulled straight out of them just from the close proximity… as though it was trying to pull their life out of them.

The two men looked at the thing as it started to walk out of the door. As useless as it was, Chris held his gun up, firing what little he had in the magazine. As useless as it was, he had to try…

“Chris, go!” Leon was struggling to get up, raising his gun to fire. “This thing isn’t Wesker, get out of here!” There was no hope. They could only hope to outrun it… as dismal as that plan was… Damnit where was that trigger happy ass hole…?

The revving of an engine got all their attention before Chris could even listen.

Chris looked up just in time to see a silver motorcycle fly off the roof of one of the buildings. The person in a red duster did a backflip in the air, letting the vehicle go flying. This act gave him enough time to pull a sword off his back and slam it into the demon, the thing letting out a scream of pain. There was electricity zapping at the thing before the person jumped off, sliding away. 

The man was _grinning_ as he looked at the thing. “Come on, now. I am surprised by you. You things normally have more pride than going after small fry!” The man held his sword up with one arm. “Why not pick on something a bit more your caliber?”

Leon stood up, frowning. “How the fuck do you always get here just before things happen?” He backed away from the thing, pulling Chris with, who stared in bewilderment. The man looked over at them. 

There was only a short pause before the new arrival answered. “I am unlucky like that.” With that, he pulled a shotgun out and started to fire, the thing actually reacting out of pain. As it coward back some, he ran forward swinging up with the sword before slamming it into the demon’s head. It screamed and flailed.

“Dante, move out of the way!” It was a woman who spoke this time. The man did as he was ordered, leaving the sword and jumping back just as a rocket flew at the thing. The damage was enough. The thing let out a scream, lashing out just a bit more before the man put two more bullets in the head, it fading into smoke. 

The woman walked over, scoffing. “That thing was able to talk, yet it was so easy to take down.” She shook her head as she held her rocket launcher on her shoulder. “Must have been just on the cusp of becoming a problem.”

“Yeah, well, it isn’t one anymore.” Dante went to pick up his sword, dusting it off before looking at the other two men. “You two okay?”

Leon ran a hand through his hair. “Let me get my breath back… That attack it did…” He looked at Chris who was clenching onto his gun. It may have been empty, but he knew it was a small comfort. “You can ease up. I called Dante for help.”

The man blinked and looked at his friend. “You know him, then?”

There was a small, tense silence before Leon answered. “Remember when I said about the precautions? Dante is the one who helped me put them up. He runs a place called Devil May Cry. Hunting demons is… kind of his thing.”

The devil hunter grinned. “Shame I couldn’t convince you to join. You and Lady here would have had a lot of fun working together. What with your love of guns.”

“And like I told you, I would rather those devils stay as far away from me as possible.” Leon looked over at the woman, her frame slender for being a devil hunter. She had removed the sunglasses she wore, revealing her heterochromatic eyes. They were quite striking. “So… Lady?”

The woman smirked. “Yeah, and you must be Leon. You have no idea how curious I am about you. Dante doesn’t just jump at helping someone.”

The man hummed. “I know.” He looked at his gun and then at Chris’s. “So… understandably we don’t have shit that hits these things… got anything extra we could use?” He was hopeful, but there was doubt in his voice.

That was until he heard Dante laugh. “There is a reason I wanted Lady here. She is an arsenal of a hunter.” He grinned at the woman as she walked over to her bike that had been set aside. 

She pulled a few drawers out from the sides and showed them what all she had. Chris let out a whistle at the sight of all the guns she had; pistols, shotguns, even a semi-automatic rifle. On the other side, she had a sniper rifle that she grabbed and tossed to Chris. “I got plenty for you two to work with. Might need you both to keep us cover while we get you out of here.” She handed a few pistols to Leon who expertly checked it before testing the grip in his hands. “I have to say, surprised how well you are adjusting to all this.” She looked at Chris at that, noticing how calm he was.

“Panic can get you killed… I know that personally from my profession as well as what happened during my first encounters with the undead.” He checked the site on the gun, satisfied with what he saw. “I just have to adjust while I am here and panic once I am in a safe area… I don’t need to go through what I did last time…”

Leon nodded in agreement. “If we can avoid where we got ambushed.. that would be best.” He was remorseful as he spoke about it, having had to see all the dead bodies as he dragged Chris out of there. He failed to protect any of them… had he just realized what they were dealing with…

Dante patted the man on the shoulder. “Let me go get my bike and then we can get the hell out of here. We should be able to get out of here quickly enough.” He started to walk away before pausing. “Or… not…” He got his sword out again.

Leon groaned, feeling the horde before they came out over the building. They were reptilian, that was for sure. “Can’t win, can we?” He held up the pistol, glad to feel the odd weight in his hands. He knew what kind of bullets were in this, so the moment he fired, he knew what was to come. The sound of the demons screaming made him feel all the better as he saw one drop. It wasn’t down for the count, but he knew it was hurting.

Dante was cutting through them as fast as he could, enjoying himself just a bit too much. Both Lady and Leon noted how he had changed his style up, avoiding too many things that would seem inhuman. If they didn’t get out fast enough, Leon had a feeling that Chris would find out one way or another that the man who came to help wasn’t exactly human. 

The thought wasn’t long-lived, however, as one of the reptiles, something that could be a gecko if not for the sharp spines on it’s back, jumped at them. Leon shot at it until he had to move out of the way. The gun-wielding trio turned to shoot at it, splitting up to give more space. While Chris and Leon focused on taking out the one that attacked them, Lady turned her attention to the group, sending rockets at ones that were not too close to her partner. 

“These guys do this for a living?!” Chris looked at Leon as he turned his attention to the ones high on the building. “With how at ease they are, how did we not know about this sooner?!”

Leon turned, seeing some demons trying to sneak up on them. He started to fire, soon grabbing a few magazines from the bike, moving towards Chris to watch his back. “Humans don’t want to know these things exist!” He shot at a few, soon tapping his friend to get them moving once more. “There are a lot of things that are covered up with logical explanations!” He fired at one that got too close, thankfully it vaporizing.

“It is covered up?!” Chris looked at Leon, baffled at this.

Leon shook his head. “Not how you think. They find an explanation and use it. They don’t try and believe what they are seeing. Publicity stunts, terrorist attacks-!” He ducked at a strike that almost got him, Chris rounding back to fire straight into the thing. “It isn’t intentional.” He looked over to Dante, seeing the numbers starting to dwindle. It was a close one though. He could see that Dante had gotten hurt a few times. 

Lady moved closer to the two, tossing a clip to Chris as he ran out of rifle ammo. He was grateful for whatever they used to make this stuff. “What are you two talking about?” She was so at ease as she lifted a gun and fired a few more times. “People not believing this shit?” When Leon nodded, she snorted. “I have heard of some people being smack dab in the middle and still trying to make it seem like a fairy tale. Just some nightmare…” She aimed at another demon, firing at it quickly before it got too close to them.

Chris was silent as they started to fire on more and more demons. For a moment, he thought it wouldn’t end. He was thankfully wrong as the numbers went down until the last one got a sword in the head. The soldier sighed in relief as he leaned on a wall. They were still alive… He could breathe for a moment.

“You have got to be kidding me!” All the men turned after the woman yelled, not having had time to start coming down from the adrenaline rush. She was standing over her bike, the vehicle on its side. 

Dante started to walk over, letting out a sigh. “Like I said… I am unlucky…” He scratched the back of his head before putting his sword on his back. “You got a spare at home, right?” He was nonchalant, making the situation just seem as though it wasn’t a big deal. 

That pissed the woman off. “Do you know how much a customized bike costs?! Not even Nico costs as much as this thing!"

Before the two of them could start arguing about costs, Leon cleared his throat. He was slightly wondering if something was going on between the two or something."I think there is a bit of a bigger issue than just the cost of the bike…"

Dante looked at the man a moment before letting out a sigh. "One bike… Nothing likes to work in our favor, does it, Lady?" He glanced at his friend before starting to look around, feeling out to figure out which way would be best to go. "Should be way easier than last adventure we went on… the demons aren't as heavy, and I haven't noticed any big guys just yet. On the way here anyway.”

"Stay here too long we might." Lady went to her bike and started to gather what wasn't trashed. "I will say, if we are going to have to walk, might as well drop the act, Dante. Had we had a quick way out, sure, fine." She stood up straight. "But there is no way you can hide the entire way out."

Dante looked at the huntress before signing. "I can try, you know."

"Subtlety is not in your nature… never was." Leon looked around. It was obvious he was on edge. "Rebellion would have been better. Not an electric sword."

Dante looked at the man for a moment before letting out yet another sigh. “Yeah… Rebellion kind of broke.”

“What?!” Leon blinked, staring at Dante in shock. “How?!”

Lady let out a sigh herself as she shook her head. “How about we have explanations as we get going instead of standing around?” She handed Leon and Chris a few more magazines for their guns before starting to walk off. She was very calm as she went, no fear in the world about being attacked.

Chris stood there for a moment, looking at the other two men. He was confused, extremely so, about what was going on. However, he didn’t ask right away. He agreed with Lady, they needed to get moving. He was going to deal with this as though it was a normal day with the BSAA. You keep moving, you keep an eye on ammo, and you stay alive to the best of your abilities. 

Dante watched the man for a bit before looking at Leon. “He is better than most…”

The man sighed, nodding. “As he said, panic gets us killed.” He started to walk, hearing the heavy boots beside him. “Over half of his team was killed when he first encountered zombies and other BOWs. After that, he started to fight the problem, putting himself into situations where he was encountering new threats often. If he panicked, he wouldn’t be here.” Leon folded his arms tightly, skin crawling a little. “Lady is right, though. You don’t hide what you are, you don’t need to most times. He will need to know about your heritage…” He smirked. “Especially since you feel a hell of a lot stronger than you did the last time I met you. I have a feeling you want to just let that heat out from under your skin.”

The half-devil snorted. “You have no idea…” He stretched, looking at his hand as he did. “I never thought getting more power would be a pain in my ass. I get weaker demons, and suddenly I barely have any fight. I miss when I didn’t have it.” He was quiet, looking forward at the two ahead of them. “Unfortunately… had to get it… Not a story for here.”

Leon looked at the ground. “You know I don’t want to hear it… I don’t… I don’t want to get involved with this. I just want to leave it in the past again…” He did it once, he could do it again…

“You memorized my number. Would have thought you would forget it.” He looked up, feeling something nearby. He got his gun out. They would have to talk about it later. “Lower demons, Lady. Up ahead.”

The woman looked back and nodded. He paid more attention to her than the look Chris was giving him. She got her rocket launcher set up and ready. She motioned for them to stay down, she would take care of it.

Dante pouted a bit at that, having rather taken them out himself, but he understood. He paused a moment, letting Chris come back to join them. There was no time wasting as he heard the fire of her weapons. Oh, how he was itching to join. Still, in this calm, he took the chance to look at the new human. He was muscular, looked like a weight lifter who never missed a day at the gym. His eyes were focused, determine despite what he is now in the middle of. At least they didn’t seem dazed. The wrap on the head might need changing with the red bleeding through but the wound didn’t seem to be hindering him at all. 

Chris looked ahead only a moment before looking at Dante. He was in charge, pretty much, so he felt like he needed to turn to him. “Do you know exactly what we are up against…? You said low level…”

The hunter nodded. “On the way here I felt a few others. Nothing too major. But… I think I can feel some in the distance, probably in the middle of this small place. As long as we avoid the center, you two should be safe.” He shrugged. “Unless they come hunting for us, but I doubt that. Trying to keep a low profile right now.”

Leon snorted at that comment, getting a glare from the silver-haired man. “Red jacket, loud motorcycle… Enjoying your job as well as having a woman with a rocket launcher. Not doing too good on ‘Low Profile’ if you ask me.”

“Oh, be quiet.” The hunter looked off to the side.

Lady came back, obviously not having had that hard of a time. “You boys doing alright?”

Dante simply gave her a thumbs-up before moving forward. They were in the clear again. He hoped it was for longer though. “Let’s get the hell out of dodge.” He stretched a bit as he climbed over some debris.

The hunters talked back and forth, not very much hiding where they were. This was their job, they knew what they were doing. But the other two were quiet, their habit of listening taking over. It left Chris with time to slowly process all this, to let him try and catch up with what was going on. It might help with the panic later.

Zombies had been work of science fiction before he first encountered one. So why couldn’t he handle the more supernatural, the more demonic? He did believe in heaven and hell… He guessed it just had to do more with the idea of it all than the actual reality. It made him wonder what else was out there. Could Dante answer those questions? Were exorcisms a scam and the church didn't know a thing? Then again, he could ask Leon… but he wasn't big at the idea of talking about it.

It killed the soldier a little, knowing his friend was hiding this all. It wasn’t because he didn’t say anything, it was because he couldn’t tell anyone. This was a huge secret, knowing stuff like this could happen. But… What happened that made him need to hide from it, to have a normal life? He never once mentioned anything that could have hinted about having had any difficulties growing up. When he talked about his parents, it all seemed pretty normal…

Dante stopped suddenly, hand moving towards his sword. Lady looked at him only a moment, getting her weapon ready. “Back up?”

The hunter looked to the side before shaking his head. “Start running.” He looked at the other two. “Come on!” With that, he got his sword off his back, getting it ready as he started to get a move on.

The soldiers didn’t wait for another word as they followed quickly. It was only a second later that Leon cursed, feeling what it was the other was picking up.

It wasn’t a high level, but it was dangerous, powerful. If Chris and he were alone, it would have torn them apart before they could get away. It crashed through one of the buildings, landing just behind them. The man chanced a glance back, seeing what looked like a blue centipede raising. Its head split open to reveal a large row of teeth before it started to crawl after them, violet, feather-like antennae feeling out as well as smelling out for its dinner. 

It was coming up on them fast before Danter grabbed Lady and turned her towards an alleyway. “Go!” He swung his sword a bit before finally turning towards the beast. He lowered himself into a slight crouch, figuring the best way to take care of the demon.

Chris slowed down. “There is no way you can take that on your own!” He looked at the thing.

Leon grabbed his arm. “Believe me! He can!” He tried to pull the man with, to get him out of there.

That didn’t satisfy the soldier, though. “That thing is huge!” 

Dante grunted, knowing full well he couldn’t take that thing on his own, not trying to pretend to be human. He ran forward, trying to think of what to do, to keep everything as hidden as possible. He knew Leon would try to convince his friend. This was his job, this is what he did. He had a thankless job that he enjoyed, cutting down demons and making them regret hurting humans like his mother. He knew what he was doing and didn’t need a human concerned about his well being. And this was not the time for it, because the demon blood was singing and wanting to burn through this thing fast. 

He slashed into some of the legs, Alabaster coursing through the appendages and causing a screech of pain. He jumped onto the wall of one of the broken down buildings and pierced the hard shell of the head, the centipede writhing under him. 

He was starting to think that maybe it was that easy when he felt it shift. “Oh, shit!” It flipped over, legs shifting to adjust so that the half-devil was underneath it. It lifted itself, dragging Dante with until he was a good two stories up. He shifted a bit and got Ebony out of her holster, pressing the barrel tight against once of the junctions between the segments. He fired a few rounds into it, the demon screeching again before managing to grab him with its legs.

Oh, hey, look at that, it has hands.

It pulled him away, his grip causing the sword to come out as well. He was thrown, crashing into a building.

“Ow.” It didn’t hurt a lot, just enough to smart. He sat up slowly, glaring towards the demon. He waited a moment, not hearing any yelling from someone panicked. “Good.” Leon managed to finally convince Chris. He smiled as he stood up. “Want to dance? Let’s really dance.” He reached his hand out, feeling the burning of his blade forming.  


~-~-~

  
Chris was pacing as they waited on Dante. Lady had insisted that they get going, knowing he would be fine. Still, the soldier felt like he needed to go back, to help out somehow. He felt wrong needing to leave a man behind. The woman frowned a bit, deciding to get his mind off of it. By that, she looked at Leon. “So, you can sense demons? I noticed how you look around.”

Leon pressed his lips into a thin line. As much as he didn’t like talking about it, he guessed it would help, seeing as Chris stopped moving. “Not something I particularly enjoy. Nothing I can do about it, though.” He looked at the ground, at the pieces of the statue that he was sitting on. “Heard of people who managed to turn it off, but… that isn’t an option for me.” 

“Must be a pretty powerful sensitive if that is the case. Most demons love you guys.”

The man let out a huff before reaching into his shirt. Normally, he never showed it to anyone, wanting to keep it hidden. Only ones who knew about it were Claire, Sherry, and Ada. It was an amulet of sorts, a pentacle underneath a bindrune. There were other symbols, but for the most part, those were the only two normal humans could recognize. The others Lady knew were more demonic in nature. She gave a low whistle as she knelt in front of him to get a better look. Leon noted how she didn’t touch it. “Dante made this when he realized my predicament. Thankfully my job makes it too easy to keep it powered up so I never had to do it myself intentionally.” 

Lady looked at it a little longer before he placed it back in his shirt. “That is a powerful one. He really was trying to make sure you stayed hidden.” She folded her arms. “He doesn’t do that too often.” 

He looked up at her. “Know of Temen-Ni-Gru?” The look of surprise gave him the answer. “It was after that incident that we met up. He was probably pretty sentimental after that…” He gave nothing more about it, trying to not let too much out at once. 

Chris looked at the two a moment. “What’s that?”

Lady looked at him, smiling just a little as she explained about the tower, about Sparda’s power being sealed in it, leaving out some of the major details for now. They were lucky that the demon was something the humans couldn’t handle, well, maybe Lady. But it meant Dante could attempt pretending. Lady had to admit surprise that he was doing so well.

Leon glanced over to where they had just come from, feeling a demon near. He didn’t get up, just waiting until the man in red came forward, stretching a bit. He was a mess, but he looked untouched. “Well, that was fun. Got to say, that way is blocked, though.” He looked at Leon a little sympathetically. It meant they had to deal with this longer… “I think the demons are starting to spread out more to boot… So more fights…”

The agent shook his head before standing. “Great… Not that I am not used to these kinds of setbacks.”

Chris nodded in agreement. “Just have to adjust and force our way through.”

Lady grinned. She liked his enthusiasm. She started to head forward to start the way. Dante just shook his head, motioning for the other two to go forward so he could take the rear. As much as he preferred to be in front, he figured it best to be the one to get hit if something came from behind.

The soldier, however, moved to walk with him. Dante smirked, knowing he had questions. “How did you beat that thing…?”

The half-devil wanted to just say it, but he refrained. “Been at this for a long time. I was a teen when I got my shop set up. Demons are just easy for me after that.” He placed a hand on his hip as they walked, looking around at the damage. “Only ever had a few demons that I had problems with. One of them I have to keep an eye on every so often. He is a real pain in my ass when he decides to act up.” He glanced at the other only a moment, see how he was doing. He was tempted to let the secret slip just to see his reaction, the man was so cool-headed. “Thankfully, Nero has a leash on that one.” 

“Nero?” Chris raised a brow. 

Dante nodded. “One of the others. He is still fresh to Devil May Cry. Wish I had known about him sooner.” He would have been protecting him to hell and back had he known.

Chris was silent for a bit. He knew he couldn’t get anything out of Leon, not that he would want to, not with his wanting to keep quiet. But this guy was talking. “How did you get into this?” He regretted that question as a more sober look crossed his features. “You don’t have to-”

“Demons attacked my family after my father disappeared. They killed my mother while I was hiding. Wasn’t until ages later that I found out what happened to everyone else. Dad was killed. Vergil…” He stopped, shaking his head. “I have family around, though. That is what matters.” 

Chris could relate too much to that. “My sister and I are all that is left. Not as horrible of a situation, but it is never easy losing your parents.” 

Dante snorted but didn’t state about siblings either. “Right. But yeah. That is my tragic back story. Most of us have it in this business. There are a few here and there, like Morrison, who just ended up in it because of dumb unluckiness…” He smiled a little. “His ex-wives don’t count for the tragic bits despite me wondering if they are demons themselves.” 

Oh, Dante was happy to get a chuckle out of Chris. The man seemed too uptight. But hearing that, he knew he would enjoy the man’s company if they talked more outside of the job… That wouldn’t be too bad. Would keep him from getting into trouble more often. 

He was starting to relax, not worried about the sensations of the demons around when he felt a particularly familiar burst of energy. He stopped in his tracks, noticing Leon do the same, the brunet frowning in confusion. As Dante focused, he noticed a second one not far from the first.

 _Oh no…_ “Okay… not calling you a liar or anything, just wanting to be sure; you didn’t call the other two, right?” He looked at her, feeling that same electricity when he knew Trish was near. “Because if you didn’t, call and make sure they aren’t here.”

Lady frowned more as she got her phone out. “I really need to get you a cell phone that won’t break…” She called the other woman up, waiting.

Leon looked at the man, worried. “Who are ‘they’?”

With a groan, Dante ran a hand through his hair. “Two other demon hunters. Which doesn’t make much sense… I was only notified by you. I wouldn’t have thought someone contacted Morrison yet…” He looked to where he had felt the burst of power, knowing a Devil Trigger when he felt it. 

Lady frowned a bit and looked back. “You are not going to believe this one… They are all three here.”

Dante stared at her a moment. “Not funny.”

“Not kidding…” She tilted her head towards the center of the city. “This is a challenge for the new Demon King. Nero and Trish are posing as lieutenants while Vergil takes down the dumb ass who thought that would be a good idea.”

The moment she said the name, Leon was looking between them. Dante rubbed his face. “I am regretting everything right now.” So much to fucking explain… “Okay… I was doing fucking good but if Verge is here, no way I am hiding shit.” 

Lady nodded in agreement. And he had been doing so well! Of course, nothing could go his way, could it?

Chris was frowning, confused as all hell. Dante finally sighed, knowing he had to know. “Vergil is my brother. And that thick-headed ass hole decided to get himself a throne in the underworld as one of the Demon Kings. Which is where the whole he is a pain in the ass part comes in with Nero keeping him on a leash. Unlike me, he wanted to get all demoned out so he went after our old man’s power in this tower called the-” 

Lady shook her head. “He knows about the tower, just not that Sparda is your dad.”

“Good, I can skip that part. But yeah. Went after that, he got stuck in hell, had to kill him later, which was not fun. Years later he comes back and royally fucks up Redgrave again and becomes a king.” He looks at the sky, frustrated. “Once Nero kicked his ass, we both get stuck in hell and then have to get out of it because I was not a fan of constantly getting attacked just because of the royal dumb ass. And now here we are still dealing with it.” He let out a quick sigh, looking at Chris who was staring. “Questions? Because at this point, I got nothing to hide… well some things to hide, but that is a different story.”

Chris stood there, stock still, for a solid minute. “Sparda…” He looked at Lady a moment. “You mean that powerful demon who sealed his power? He’s…” Dante nodded. “Meaning you’re…”

“A demon, well, half-demon. Yes. Same with my brother despite being a King.” 

Chris stared for a bit more before slowly nodding. “When Leon said you had a hang on things, he wasn’t kidding.”

Dante nodded with a bit more frustrated enthusiasm. “Yep. Went full-on demon on that thing. Speaking of.” He raised his hand, electricity forming next to him before the demonic bike appeared under his hand. After a moment it dissipated. “That is better. Hate leaving that somewhere.” He folded his arms, noticing Chris was… tense as he took this all in. “As I said, though, Nero and Trish are demon hunters, just like Lady and I. Normally Nero works alone, being a half-devil himself. Trish can work by herself but pairs up with Lady a lot.” She looked over to his partner. “Funny with your hate of demons.”

Lady shrugged. “Mundus made the mistake of making her after Eva. That woman had too much humanity in her.”

Leon furrowed his brows. “Mundus…?” 

Lady turned her attention to the agent. He spoke with an air of familiarity… how would he have known about Mundus?

Dante ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Mundus made a demon close to mother. Just to get me to go after him. It worked. But boy was he not expecting Trish to betray him. Thanks to her I put him back where he belongs and now she works with me.” He smirked. “Or takes money from me. Depends on how things work.” 

The group fell silent after that, Lady still having the phone to her ear. After a bit, she leaned into the phone a little more. “Yeah, still here. Dante had to let a human know what was going on, seeing as we were hoping we could keep a low profile.” The group looked at her. “If Vergil finds us, you know he will be too proud to think about pretending to be human. You and Nero, sure. Not like Nero wasn’t thinking he was one for the longest time.” She moved to lean against the wall as she and Trish talked, as though it was a normal Sunday afternoon.

Chris took a deep breath to collect himself, standing up straighter. “Well, at least now I know. No need to hide… going full-on demon…”

Dante smirked as he shook his head. “We call it Devil Trigger. But yeah. I’ll try to not use it too much. Probably only going to be bigger guys I let the demon out. Most of those cases, I want you to run.” Chris nodded in understanding after seeing the first one. 

Lady finally hung up and looked at the group. “Let’s move. Trish went to let Vergil know the situation. Nero is going to meet up with us.” She gave her own smirk as she saw the annoyed look the half-devil gave. “Consider it family bonding. Not like you ever really spent time with him after he found everything out. And I think he is still pissed at you for not coming clean.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Just glad he is okay with his demon blood and not such a rage-filled teen.” He started to follow her again. He felt out again, trying to see if he could feel his twin’s aura. He hadn’t felt it yet. Did that mean the demon he was challenged by wasn’t worthy enough to make him let his full power out? Was it already dead? How long had they been there?

Did Vergil already know he was there?

He sighed some, noticing how quiet Leon was. He walked up to him. This was a lot of information from the last time they saw each other… “I know you said you didn’t want more information…”

Leon pressed his lips tightly together. “You had to kill him... “

Dante looked at the ground. “Yeah. When he fell into Hell Mundus found him. I didn’t realize it until my third encounter with him… And by the time I figured out what was going on, it was too late.” He smirked. “But he is around still and a bigger pain in my ass than before. Last time I saw him it took the brat slamming us against a wall to stop us from arguing.” 

Leon got his gun up as he hummed in response, the two feeling a small horde. “They really like being everywhere, huh?” This pack had more of a sabertooth style to them. The group started to shoot, Dante getting his sword out to move closer to start swinging at them. The first slice made the hunter back up as he realized the demon was made of acid. Not his first experience, but not one of his favorites.

He smirked as he pulled out Ebony and Ivory, keeping the attention on him while the other three opened up. Because of the acidic blood, Lady was smart to use her pistols, aiming the closest to her partner as Leon and Chris aimed at the ones around them. 

It was quick work until another one formed, this one larger and much nastier looking. It still had that look at though it was a sabertooth but it was wet, fumes coming off the skin in a wave of miasma. Dante simply waved his hand in front of his face, not bothered at all. “Someone needs a bath.” He shifted on his feet a bit before pulling out a different weapon. “Not sure you would like that, though. Maybe my canine friend can help put you into submission.” He let the two chucks fall before spinning them, the chill filling his veins a bit. 

He didn’t look to see if his group was out of the way as he jumped up towards the demon. He tried to waste no time in slamming Cerberus into the feline, it let out a scream of pain as it turned to swipe at him, goops of acid flying after. The moment he saw that the hunter looked to where the others were taking covering, occasionally moving to take a few lined shots. He couldn’t help but smirk as he started to bombard the demon, using speed to get out of the way. Chris knew what he was, might as well use his powers while having fun. It wasn’t nearly hard enough to use his Trigger.

He got under it as it spun, trying to use its tail like a whip. With another yell he let his weapon bite into its underside. It jumped back, then, sticking to a wall. Dante looked at it as it growled. Oh, that might not have been good. Must have been pissed off enough to do something new. 

He got his twins out again and started to fire, trying to get more damage before it started to spit large lungies of acid at him. He was grateful he got that trickster ability. That ball was too fast. He ran, trying to shoot it again but didn’t have the time. _Oh, come on!_ He used the wall to dodge another bout, pushing away quickly. 

He got a few more shots in before the demon jumped down, nearly landing on him. A small yell caused him to look up, noticing that the tail had elongated and nearly hit the group. With a small curse, he focused on the demon again before running to avoid a surprise shot from the tail… that now had a scorpion tip, now that isn’t cool!

“Getting slow old man!” Oh, if not for the situation he would be trying to shoot that kid. “Need some help?”

Dante glared at him a bit. “Okay, knowing you, I am going to say this first, I want this down-” He jumped out of the way of one of the paws. “As fast as I can, and honestly, I haven’t powered up yet!” He would have thought his demon would be ready, but weirdly enough it wasn’t there just yet. The thing was starting to become a bother enough he wanted to spread his wings.

Nero jumped down from the ceiling. Apparently, he was full of energy, because as he fell there was a flash of blue before his astral wings flared out. “One dead demon, coming up!” Dante couldn’t help the smirk at the sound of that voice. He was still thrilled how easily he pulled it up, used it with ease, and threw blades into the beast as though he had been doing it his entire life. He remembered it being a little rocky once he had embraced his demon side, saw its uses in fights. He was worried Nero would have more issues.

But there he was, using those wings to back away quickly before the demon reared up to slam him into a wall. As he hit the ground, his taloned feet scrapped the cement, giving him enough purchase to charge. He swung Red Queen, charging her up mid-run.

Dante wanted to watch more, but he wasn’t letting the kid have all the fun. Oh, no. He decided to just screw it and summoned his blade, going for a leg as Nero jumped at the head. 

Chris looked at the two half-devils as they hit the thing at the same time, acid and wet meat flying in two directions. It hit the ground because of the leg giving out. Despite being down, it still tried to attack, furious. Nero let his demon form drop, but he jumped into the air, astral wings propelling him up to bring a strong attack at it. Dante dodged the tail and drove the blade he formed deep into the creatures back.

And that was it. The beast let out one last cry before settling down, bubbling into nothingness.

Nero settled his sword onto his shoulder, letting out a sigh. “Damn that was impressive. Glad there is nothing left. I am sure Neco would have my ass if I didn’t bring her a sample.” He looked over, waving to Lady. “You surprised us when you called. We wouldn’t have expected you to be here.”

Lady looked at Dante a moment. “Personal matters.” She motioned to the other two, Chris getting a roll of gauze out of his vest. 

The eldest hunter frowned. “You good?”

“Yeah, Leon is wanting to check my head.” As it was said, the agent was pulling at the bandage carefully as to not agitate it too much. 

Nero looked at the two. Dante felt his chest tighten, knowing Nero might have sensed something off about Leon. Still, he was grateful when he didn’t bring anything up, just looking to his uncle. “So, you came here for them… Guessing you were hoping for an easy way out?”

Dante nodded. “Yeah. As you can see, that isn’t working…”

“No shit. Doesn’t help you’re the _idenicle_ twin to the guy they are challenging. You two may feel different as hell to me, but I don’t think it is the same for these dumbasses. All they feel are the sons of Sparda, not which one.” He stretched a bit, metallic hand shifting a bit as he did. Dante thought a moment, thinking that was the Overture arm. “I think if you want to get these guys out of here, you would have to split.”

“I’d rather keep Dante with us.” Leon stood up, getting his gun out to reload. “As long as he keeps the demon’s attention, we should be good.”

Lady let out a laugh. “Oh, being used as bait. That is funny.” She walked up to her partner and patted his shoulder. 

Dante just gave a small smirk, no smart comment, or a lip off. 

While they didn’t say anything, this puzzled the two. They knew Dante long enough that the idea of being nothing more than bait would be an insult for him. Yet he was okay with the idea right now? Nero most of all felt this was strange. After all, he felt something off about the agent, something deeper than most things. It felt like something was being covered up, and not just some simple gift. Leon was… hiding something more.

For now, he hummed. “Well, I know the turn towards the border is blocked from that way.” He pointed to the alley they would have had to take. “You will have to take a route closer to the center. Most buildings are crashed now, and what isn’t blocked by debris has a bunch of construction going on. Some park or something.” He looked at the four. “I can go on ahead, see about clearing some areas out for you. But I can’t guarantee you won’t be attacked with them looking for…” He waved his hand. Dante didn’t push. While Nero had called Vergil ‘Father’ during their fight, it was sometimes difficult to refer to him as such in casual settings. 

He was getting there, just as Vergil was accepting his son.

Lady nodded at the idea, though. “Less for these two to deal with.” She smirked a bit before he jumped off to help clear the area. Once he landed on the roof, they saw him pull out a phone to call Trish up for an update.

Dante again was grateful. If things went right, he might have needed to talk to him. But if things went wrong… and for some reason, he felt like they were about to… Well, it wouldn’t be him needing to explain anything.

“That was Nero?” Chris motioned up toward the one who went ahead, following Dante as he started to get moving. “Seems a lot like you…”

Dante immediately turned around. “Whoa, before you get an idea, he is so not my kid. I did have some people think about it once I got back. And I really don’t want that misconception again.” He let his hands fall from where they were raised. “So, yeah, I know he is a lot like me, and that is scary because I didn’t know him until half a decade ago.” 

Leon raised a brow, curious about that. He wanted to comment on how he felt like a Sparda as well but left it. For now, they continued. 

Thankfully, now that Nero was clearing the way, the demons were less to appear, only a few coming up here and there to try and attack them. It was easy enough that even Chris or Leon could take them out on their own. They, mainly Dante, were hoping that their luck was about to change.

They needed to stop thinking about that until the situation was over.

Just as they were about to try and go around a courtyard, the group heard a surprised yell. Nero was thrown through one of the pillars, hitting the wall near them. “Kid!” Dante rushed forward, helping him up as blood ran down his face. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would certainly hurt for a short.

“ **SPARDA!** ” The voice was deep, growly, normal for a large demon. Dante cursed at himself as he looked up at the giant. It was aquatic, thin spider-like legs coming from the head, but the rest looked like something from the deep sea, a spiked fin running along the back, webbed clawlike feet to go along with the flat tail that looked like it was made for swimming. Lines ran over its skin with a luminous glow, the most elaborate being around the bulbous eyed face. “ **I SMELL YOU DEMON KING!** ”

Dante groaned, realizing that this was the one who decided to challenge his brother. He helped Nero lean on the wall before walking to greet the weird fish thing on legs. “Hate to break it to ya, but if you want the king, you want to go the other way.” He motioned towards the place he felt his brother. For some reason… he had a feeling Vergil was waiting. Just like him to wait to be found rather than go searching for the stupid. 

Then again, how many times had that worked?

He jumped out of the way from the first attack; a mouth full of molten rock. “Whoa! Water and fire? Looks like fish is for dinner, huh?” As he said it, he looked around, realizing he needed to get the other four out. Unfortunately, that was on the other side of the area… “Get out of here!” He glanced back. “After everyone is out of the way, get Vergil so I don’t have to clean up his mess!” He got his sword out, jumping onto a building to keep the demon on him.

Nero pushed away from the wall and moved to help get Chris and Leon moving. As the two moved, Leon felt an odd surge, one he never felt before. Blasts of energy were thrown at the aquatic beast, it let out a yell before swiping at its opponent. Leon’s breath almost caught as he saw what Dante had become. 

He had seen his demon form before, just once. This was something new, something more terrifying. It flew faster, swung with more deadly accuracy, and shot energy that it couldn’t before. What did Dante do to become that?

The demon fighting him growled before violently swinging its tail, smashing everything in its path.

Chris cursed as he grabbed his friend and pulled him back, rocks falling in front of them. Lady just barely jumped out of the way. Once she noticed they were separated, she pulled out her rocket launcher and aimed for the tail once it started to swing again. She was able to blast it pretty easily and push it away long enough for the two to get around the rocks. 

They continued going until Dante let out a yell of panic. Leon looked up, eyes widening as a pillar was thrown towards them. “ **NO ONE WILL ESCAPE ME!** ” 

Nero moved in the way, quickly shifting his arm, something new. He pulled Red Queen out just as quickly as he moved to get in the way and activated the Tomboy, blade glowing before striking at the pillar to redirect it.

Even with his quick thinking, Leon was slammed into by part of the stone, causing him to get tossed back. He hit a wall and crumbled, coughing up just a bit of blood. He hated how much he was used to that…

It was just as Chris got to him that he realized something was wrong. Something was pulling at him and it started to make him panic. The soldier started to pull him up and he reached into his shirt, pulling out the amulet. “Shit…” It was cracked. It wasn’t enough to negate its job, but it was enough that his aura would have been leaking out, others able to sense him more clearly now.

Nero looked at the other, panting a bit as he looked at the amulet and the wide eyes. “... What… _are_ you?”

Leon looked at the other, not noticing Chris looking between them. They only looked away from one another when Dante managed to slam the demon away temporarily, him landing nearby and dropping the demon form. He looked back to them, but mainly the one who called him. “You okay?” At least Leon answered honestly when he shook his head, because, no he wasn’t okay. “Okay, so… Everything feels like it has gone to shit now…”

Nero took a step forward, Dante’s attention focused on the threat getting up. “What is going on, Dante? He feels like-”

“Your father will explain.” Nero stopped at that. “I promised I wouldn’t say a damn thing and I am keeping that. Your father doesn’t have that.” He shifted his hand a bit as the demon got up.

Lady glared, hating how she didn’t know a damn thing now. “How is Vergil supposed to know when you two met after he went to hell?!”

Dante let out a growl. “As I said, he will explain!” With that, he ran toward the demon again, just as it opened it’s maul again. However, unlike the first blast which came from the mouth, those spidery legs opened up to create an almost crown. At each point, another ball formed of fire that shot out at them. It was numerous enough that all anyone could do was jump out of the way. 

“Shit!” Leon looked up towards Chris, the two separated from the demon hunters and each other. With quick thinking, the two looked around to try and figure out the best way out of there. The demon attacked again with the same attack, Dante changing again, this time his simpler form to move out of the way quickly. Leon managed to move to his friend, the two trying to get towards the hunters again.

The blast this time caused the wall near then to completely disintegrate and separate them completely. Chris coughed because of the dust and looked at Leon, who was starting to get frustrated about the luck they were having at that moment. 

Dante tore into the demon again, using the shotgun to try and keep its attention on him. But it decided to do something different; it jumped over him to reach the others more easily. He turned, seeing who it was aiming for, mouth opening up.

Leon felt cold despite the heat forming in front of him.

Dante tried to fly fast enough. But he knew he wasn’t going to make it. He couldn’t-

Leon closed his eyes, prepared for what was to happen.

A high pitched screech made him look up, heart stopping.

In front of him was a near-identical form of Dante in that new form. Certain things were formed differently, horns more rounded, chest more arrowed, and there was a tail. But the form was almost similar. Then there was the fact he was blue. In his hand was also a katana rather than a larger blade.

Leon stared at the glowing blue, knowing exactly who this demon was that had seemed to appear out of nowhere and slashed through the one challenging him. “...V…” 

Nero managed to move around the stone and miss the tail as the demon tried to get up, shaking its head from the gouge from just its back hips all the way up to its neck. He stared at his father, baffled for a moment before he registered what Leon just said, a memory coming into play of a dark-haired, frail man. Not many knew who V was, so why would Leon know… unless…

Vergil stood up straight and turned, looking at his brother as he changed back to his human form. “You challenged the strong… and yet you aimed at the weak. You lack the honor that I had hoped to be up against.” 

Dante knew he was about to get his ass kicked once Vergil was done. He knew that glare as he let his trigger drop. With the energy he was feeling, his twin wasn’t about to go easy. 

The older looked back to the others. “Please get everyone out of here, Nero.” With that, he returned the Yamato to the sheath, crouching just a little.

With one look of that, Nero moved to the two, pulling them forward quickly. “Move!” He knew that move too well, knew they were about to be in a lot of pain if they didn’t get out fo there, and some people very much dead. Dante shifted and started to run as he felt the circle of energy build. Before the blades sliced them all, the demon slowly getting up to go at the king, both Dante and Nero pulled their demon forms out and flew, grabbing the three others.

They narrowly missed the blades shooting out, hearing that screech of pain again. Whether Dante weakened it or not, Vergil would make sure it was dead.

~-~-~

Trish was waiting where Vergil had asked her to stay, an open spot where it was easy to target him while he had waited. She was severely confused as of what happened that made him get up, almost looking bewildered and upset. She never thought she would see that, not having reacted when he had seen Kyle fall out of the tree in the park.

She was pacing, waiting to find out what happened when she noticed who was approaching her. She looked up, seeing the two hybrids fly where she was, Dante holding Lady and Nero holding the two men she was told about. Once all of them were settled, she eyed the one, a strange look passing through both their eyes as he caught his breath from suddenly getting picked up to fly out of there.

“Okay… I’ll bite…” She looked at Dante. “What is going on?”

Chris stood up straight. “I am really curious about that, too…” He looked at Nero. 

The half-devil shook his head before Nero could question. “No. As I said before, I am not saying. You can ask Vergil because he is about to rip me a new one about this.” He moved to sit on a bench, surprisingly still intact. 

Lady walked over to him, no one even thinking of asking Leon. “You dragged me into this. I kind of what answers.”

“And you will, as soon as Vergil gets here... In a few seconds.”

Lady blinked at that, confused why it would only take a few seconds. Surely it would take longer with how honor-bound he was. But she was incorrect about that as a streak of blue passed by her, Dante pulling his sword out just in time to block Yamato.

Vergil was glaring darkly. “Forget to mention something while we were in Hell, brother?” He spoke through clenched teeth as he pressed against the younger.

Nero pulled his father away using his astral wings. He made sure to stand between them to prevent a fight between them. 

Dante slowly stood up to dust himself off once his sword dissipated. No one got close, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on. The only one who moved was Trish to move near Lady in case she needed to make a mad dash to get her out of there.

“You should have told me!” Vergil was still looking at his brother, angrier than anyone had ever seen him.

Dante sighed. “I couldn’t, considering when we found each other, you were already in Hell and he wasn’t keen on anyone knowing. So I told him no one else would know.” He sounded almost exhausted as he spoke.

Vergil didn’t seem to like that answer, growling just a bit. “Promise or not, you had no right to keep this from me!”

“Keep what?!” Chris looked at the two, who was glaring at them both. For someone who never dealt with demons before, he was not showing an ounce of fear as he spoke to them. “No matter what we asked, Leon and Dante danced around all this! So what the hell is it that none of us know, but you both do?! And somehow, Nero has a guess with what he said!” 

“Kennedy…” Chris turned to his friend, not having noticed as he moved to sit away from them. “I wasn’t born with that name.”

Vergil seemed to relax just a bit. “You had a family…”

“Have. They are still around.” Leon kept his head down, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “They found me two years after.”

Lady looked at Leon for a moment before looking at Vergil. Something in her eyes told them she knew, but she needed to hear it, she needed them to confirm what she was thinking. “Two years… after what? How would he know you?”

“And why did he call you ‘V’?” Nero frowned, pieces falling into place for him as well, though his teachings contradicting what he was thinking...

Vergil let out a slow breath. “He couldn’t pronounce my name. So he called me ‘V’.” He looked up, anger still there, but it starting to ease a bit.

Trish looked between them, not knowing as much as everyone else. “Wait, that would have meant he knew you as a kid, right?”

Vergil nodded, finally looking to the other. “Thought you were dead… little brother…”

“Yeah…”

Everyone stared, shock hitting them all.

It took several seconds before Nero shook his head. “Wait… wait, wait. Sparda only had two kids, I thought.” He looked at the three men, confused despite what they were talking about making sense. But he had read the stories, heard it from so many sources. 

But Dante shook his head. “Misinformation. And no one knew about Leon yet because of how young he was… his power hadn’t awakened in the slightest.”

As the group started to ask the twins some questions, Chris moved to Leon to sit next to him. Now that he knew, he was finally noticing how Leon looked, the similarities between his friend and… apparently his friend’s older brothers. The piercing blue eyes, the strong jaw… The hair was what kept him from seeing it before… “I guess this explains how your hair darkens every so often.”

Leon gave a small smirk. “Started dying it at ten to have people stop asking what happened. By the time I was an adult I was pretty good at keeping my hair a consistent color. Same with the brows. Lashes were a little harder.”

Chris chuckled some before letting out a breath. “Why didn’t you tell us? Was it fear?”

The agent was silent for a bit. “I kept it a secret for so long… telling someone was hard, even if I trusted them with my life.” He looked up as he heard Vergil snap a little at Dante, Nero between them still. “Sherry knows though… I got hurt and recovered too quickly to be human. She was afraid I got infected.”

Chris nodded. “Las Palagas…”

“I think it was either demon made or made as a weapon against demons. Otherwise, my body would have rejected it completely, not start reacting at an accelerated rate that it had.” He smiled a little. “Lucky me. The one time I was infected it was by something no one could question.”

They went silent for a moment, watching as Nero threatened to kick his father and uncle’s ass if they didn’t calm down. Understandably, Vergil was quite upset still that he wasn’t informed about anything. Leon couldn’t blame him. He felt a small pain in his chest for not knowing the eldest was alive, and the fact he had a son. But it had been his fault, he had asked for no contact, to be left alone. He knew he had almost destroyed Dante when he asked it, but after watching the house burn, knowing he lost everyone… he couldn’t risk going through that pain again.

Chris finally stood. “I will have to talk to Claire… you know I can’t keep something like this from her, not when it is her best friend.”

Leon stood next to him, finally just taking the amulet off. He needed a new one anyway. Trish looked over as she got the full force of his demonic heritage. He was weaker, significantly so than the other two, but he was no low level. She looked at the amulet, understanding immediately how far Dante went to protect the younger. 

“I would rather tell her myself… It isn’t right you have to.” The agent walked forward, knowing it was time to go. “The challenger is dead, right?” He looked at Vergil, who was still tense.

The elder sighed and nodded. “Yes. And… I did get a piece of it for Nico.” He looked at his son, looking unimpressed by that. “Not sure what she would be able to make with that…” 

Nero shrugged, flexing his artificial fist a little. “No idea. But it will be fun to try out.” He smiled at the thought. “We should start getting out of here. Portal is already closed, so, for the most part, the demons we fight are going to be stragglers.” Of course, that was taken care of already. 

Dante nodded. “Let’s get you out of here, then.” He patted Leon’s shoulder, starting to walk him out. The conversation between Vergil and he wasn’t done, but it would have to come later once there were no more risks.

~-~-~

It had been two months after the incident. The twins, with Nero keeping the calm, had a long talk about what happened, Dante finally coming clean about meeting Leon after a hunt, finding out he had been hiding in a hollow tree when the police found him and took his to the orphanage once it was confirmed he had no living relatives. He had been so terrified after that he rejected demons entirely, just trying to have a normal, human life. It was hard, but he had managed. Then Dante made him the amulet to help keep him hidden.

Leon hadn’t called them, and he had neglected to give either of them his number. They had a feeling that they wouldn’t hear him for a long time again.

Kyrie was visiting when the door opened, the smell of food filling the Devil May Cry. Nero looked up as a young woman walked in, blonde hair and blue eyes. She felt… odd but she felt human. He stood. “Welcome in. Got a problem.” 

The woman looked at him, smiling. “Nope. First visit. Just waiting for Leon to get his butt out of the car.” She smiled more as his eyes widened. “Trust me, he wouldn’t have been here if not for Chris being a stubborn ass. And I came to make sure he actually got here.” She chuckled a bit holding her hand out. “Sherry.”

The hunter grinned happily, taking her hand. “Nero. I will go tell the others.” With that, he walked to the kitchen where his father was helping Kyrie cook.

It took a moment, but the door opened again, Leon looking around. He smirked just a bit at the look of the place. “Still can’t clean up after himself…” It was better than what he remembered, but there were signs that he didn’t clean up enough. More than likely, Nero and Vergil were the ones who were keeping it tidy.

Sherry smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Meeting with estranged family can’t be worse than a zombie-infested town, right?” Leon was nervous as hell, though. He looked up as he heard the familiar footsteps of Dante’s boots. The red-clad demon hunter grinned as he saw his younger brother. “Hey, Dante…”

“Thought I wasn’t going to see you again. Glad I was wrong for once.” He leaned against the wall as Vergil came out to see the youngest son.

Leon looked him over, the coat off and his sleeves rolled up. Oddly enough, Yamato was still at his side. Leon had some suspicions as of why, an ankle gun on him at all times. Stressful times called for small comforts… “Glad to see you, Leon.” He looked at the girl with him, tilting his head just a bit. 

The agent smiled a bit. “This is Sherry. She is both a coworker and I guess you could say part of my expanded family.”

Sherry smiled to the two, an innocent smile they recognized from anyone pure of heart that had seen too many things. They had seen it quite often with Kyrie and Nero. “Leon helped take care of me after my parents died. He sold his life to the government to keep me safe.”

Dante snorted at that. “So… you are pretty much my niece I didn’t know I had.” He looked at Vergil, giving him a shit-eating grin.

The eldest looked at Dante before just shoving his face away, making the younger twin cackle. They were definitely acting more like brothers again. Vergil then looked at the two. “Not too much room, but we do have some space in the kitchen. I know Kyrie would love to meet more family of Nero’s.” 

Leon nodded and started to walk forward. Dante suddenly seemed to remember something and ran up the stairs. Inside the kitchen, the two newcomers could see Kyrie at the stove mixing some things up while Nero was sitting with three boys, helping them with homework. Vergil moved to wash his hands before continuing to help the woman, mainly cutting up different items and washing the dishes as she went. It was a wholesome sight. 

Nero only glanced up a moment before motioning to some chairs that were set up to the side. With how Dante was, Leon could suspect that Nero and Kyrie brought them all so that there was enough room for guests. The two sat down, the three boys being introduced as Julio, Kyle, and Carlo. When the topic of what the two agents did pop up, homework was forgotten as the three young boys turned to ask questions; if zombie hunting was anything like demon hunting and the like.

Leon was starting to relax when he heard Dante call him back to the front. He excused himself to join the younger twin, looking at a box that was under his arm. Dante set the box down and Leon felt his breath hitch a bit.

On top of the box, it had his name, the one his parents gave him. When he was five, when everything fell apart, he had not known how to spell his name yet, so they assumed. But right there, in fancy lettering, was _Leone_. 

“Trish, Vergil, and I sat and talked about it. Vergil got Yamato, I got Rebellion.” He patted the box. “These were our fathers. Only right you have them.” 

Leon looked at Dante a moment before opening the box. Inside, he saw two guns that were only vaguely familiar from when he was younger. He lifted the one, looking at the details and the care taken into their state of being. He knew what they were before he even read the words on the side. “You actually found dad’s guns.” He looked at Ombra, pointing her at the wall to see how she felt. 

Dante nodded. “Yeah. And you are more a gun person than I am, so... They’re yours.”

The younger paused and looked at the gun. “You said you had to talk to Trish…”

“I gave them to her, but she agreed that they belong to the son of Sparda more than her. And she was thinking of getting her own weapons anyways, seeing as most of the ones she got were gifted to her and belonged to Sparda.” He smirked a bit as he watched Leon place Ombra back with her sister. 

Carefully, he closed the box. “I can’t… I can’t take them with me…” He could almost feel the hurt in Dante’s eyes. But when he smiled, it wasn’t of rejecting the guns. “I don’t live in the best of places and I am not home enough. I would honestly prefer to keep them here, to keep them safe.”

Dante’s eyes brightened at that, grinning. “Safest place to keep them.” Dante patted the box. “We should shoot them one day, see how good you are with them, and see if Ebony & Ivory match your skills.” 

Leon was quiet for a moment before nodding. “Chris and Claire won’t let me pass up that offer.” He didn’t want to be slapped again. 

And… they were right. It was nice to have his brothers again.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I always see crossovers where Dante and Leon are cousins. With how much they look similar, I thought 'Hey, what if Leon was actually his little brother?' (Ironic in a way, seeing as Leon was created first, but whatever.) This was fun to do.
> 
> Edit: it has been brought to my attention that Cerberus was destroyed before DMC5. I apologize for this continuity error. Most of my knowledge is from playing the games and the anime. The privilege to read the books has not happened.


End file.
